Holmes County juvenile assistant prosecutor Sean Warner told ABC News that the boy has been charged with one count of murder. The youth is currently at the Richland County Juvenile detention facility.

Holmes County Sheriff Tim Zimmerly said police were called to the tiny town of Big Prairie around 6 p.m. Sunday because the boy allegedly killed his mother, 46-year-old Deborah McVay, with a rifle.

The woman's body was found lying face down in the living room with a single shot to the head, Zimmerly said.

Authorities went to the boy's home Sunday night after a neighbor called police to say the 10-year-old told them "he needed the squad and the police and that he had just shot his mom," according to Zimmerly.